For all the waspish energy and venomous hitting, it was Carlos Alcaraz’s ability to turn up the dial under pressure that saw him come through a testing encounter with Nicolas Jarry and move safely into the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday.

The world No.1 was frequently on the ropes against the imposing Chilean but always managed to find another gear as he wrapped up a 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 7-5 victory on Centre Court. What had looked like a routine outing for Alcaraz when he claimed the first set after a solitary break, quickly turned into something more troublesome as Jarry raced into a 4-1 lead in the second.

While Alcaraz clawed back to parity, the Chilean served like his life depended on it to level the match in the tie-break.

Alcaraz got his nose in front once more but if he hoped to have dealt a decisive blow by winning the third set, Jarry had other ideas, racing into a 3-0 lead at the start of the fourth.

That, however, brought out the best in the Spaniard who finished off the contest with two further breaks, wrapping up the match with two massive serves that were just too hot for Jarry to handle.

A year after being banned from playing at the home of grasscourt tennis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Daniil Medvedev downed Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

For a while on Saturday, it seemed like he was heading for a speedy exit. But Medvedev survived a wayward opening set to topple an opponent who had won their only previous meeting at a slam.

Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 5 seed, advanced to the last 16, beating Serb Laslo Djere 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

Gruelling battle

Sixth seed Holger Rune overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) in a gruelling battle.

With absolutely nothing to separate the pair after nearly four hours out on Court Three, the match came down to a final-set tie-break.

With the tie-break level at 8-8, Davidovich Fokina attempted an underhand serve which saw Rune’s eyes light up before he smashed a vicious winner past the Spaniard to set up match point.

The Dane then prevailed in the roller-coaster encounter when Davidovich Fokina found the net on the final point as an exhausted but ecstatic Rune lay flat on his back on the grass, soaking in the applause.

Sabalenka advances

Aryna Sabalenka was back on her A-game as she kept up her perfect record against Russian Anna Blinkova with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

In a match between two players who were both barred from competing here last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sabalenka made her experience count.

Beatriz Haddad Maia moved into the fourth round here for the first time in her career with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sorana Cirstea, a minute before play was suspended due to rain.

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova booked her place in the last-16 for the seventh time with a 6-3, 7-5 against qualifier Natalija Stevanovic.

Novak wins

Novak Djokovic defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) in the third round late on Friday. Then he was all praise for the vanquished.

After defeating the Swiss, he said: “I have to say that it’s amazing what Stan is doing. Still his age, after several surgeries. We are two old guys fighting with the young guns.” Wawrinka, 38, is two years older than Djokovic.